Chapter 479: Exploration of the Lake Kingdom, Sri Tribe, and the Sea and Sky in the North

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The conch shells of the warrior team sounded not far from the mountains. Chihuaco stopped and listened for a few breaths, his expression slightly slowed down. He signaled the sailors to speed up, and after passing two mountain passes, the bloody battlefield suddenly appeared!

On the yellow-brown land, more than a dozen corpses fell everywhere, turning into pools of bright red. And where the corpses were concentrated, two wounded Purépecha warriors were squatting on the ground, anxiously checking something.

"Damn it! It must be Sri Tugou!"

Seeing the attacked team, Gray Puapu shouted, furious. He searched anxiously for a while and found a corpse with an arrow in the eye. It was the captain of the reconnaissance team.

"Chikari!"

Puapu's heart trembled. He let out a cry of grief, and then staggered and ran towards his confidants who died in the battle.

He was demoted to the seaside, followed by only a dozen confidants, dozens of warriors from the capital, and three hundred surrendered southern warriors. Since he went to sea, he has lost two confidants, and now another one died here, which is really heartbreaking.

You know, these confidants who have been on the battlefield for a long time are the backbone of his troops and the capital for his future recovery! This sea exploration, even if it is close to the coast, is still a business of raising heads!

"Damn Sri dog!"

Pu Apu cursed angrily and paused suddenly. When he spoke the second half of the sentence, he changed his name.

"Chikari"

Seeing the miserable state of the corpse, Chihuaco's eyes jumped. In the Purepecha language, "Chikari" means log, which is somewhat similar to the meaning of his name. The old militia pursed his lips, walked forward, and asked the only two wounded warriors left.

"What happened just now? Was it an attack by the Sri people?"

"We met a team of Sri tribal warriors, or hunters, and then they raided us!"

The young archer gritted his teeth and said hatefully. In many hunting tribes, warriors and hunters are often the same word, because bows and arrows are essential skills for survival.

"We couldn't understand what they said. The captain lowered his weapon and expressed his goodwill to them, but was shot dead by the leader of the Sri Lankans! Then, the Sri Lankans came up and killed them. There were more than a dozen of them, and we only had four, but we still defeated them!"

"Huh! Praise the Lord! You are all brave warriors! May the souls of the deceased fly into the kingdom of rest. I will report to His Majesty and ask for generous compensation for those who died in the expedition!"

Chiwako looked serious, prayed a rare prayer, and made a solemn promise. Then, he asked in a deep voice.

"I remember you, your archery is very good! Your name is Kexi? The toad who is good at water?"

"Yes! Captain!"

Kexi nodded in surprise. His name is Kexikoki, which is a common toad in the countryside. If it were the custom of the Celestial Empire, it would be something like Ergou or Goudan. In traditional beliefs, such a name is given because it is easy to raise a humble name, and on the other hand, it is also to communicate with the divine animals, thereby resisting the invasion of the world's monsters.

Chivaco squatted down and saw that on the red ground, there was a middle-aged warrior who was not dead yet, but his face was red and he was motionless and in a coma.

"What happened to him?"

"During the battle, the Sri people shot a kind of red arrow, which should be poisonous. He was hit by two arrows and soon..."

"Red arrows?"

"That's it!"

Kexi took out a bone arrow, the arrowhead was dark red. Chivaco frowned and smelled the arrowhead carefully, only smelling a faint smell of blood.

"Yanniao, what kind of poison is this?"

The young Shanniao was staring blankly at the tragic battlefield, his hands and feet trembling slightly. Chivaco asked twice before Shanniao came back to his senses. He took the bone arrow, looked at it carefully for a while, and couldn't make up his mind for a while. Then, he recalled the ballad his mother had sung, and suddenly realized it.

".The powerful tribe in the desert raises poisonous scorpions and rattlesnakes. The warriors shoot dark red arrows, like the light of the setting sun, taking away the enemy's light. These are the arrows of poisonous scorpions and rattlesnakes!"

"What? Poisonous scorpions and rattlesnakes?"

"Chief, the Sri tribe lives on hunting, with a small population, no forging skills, and no materials to exchange. Their bone arrows have arrowheads from coyote teeth, arrow bodies from grass stems, and feathers from seabirds. When fighting with hostile tribes, such bows and arrows are difficult to cause fatal damage. In order to enhance the power of arrows, larger tribes will domesticate scorpions and rattlesnakes. They put the thin prey into scorpion and snake cages and let the poisonous beasts bite them. Then, take out the poisonous liver of the prey, penetrate the arrowhead into the liver and soak it for several days, then take it out and dry it in the shade, it is the best poisonous arrow, which can be stored for a long time!"

"Making poisonous arrows."

Chivaco blinked his eyes and understood more about the dangers of the desert hunting tribe. Then, he asked anxiously.

"Yamaniao, is there an antidote for such poison? Can he be saved?"

"Uh, scorpion venom and snake venom"

Yamaniao looked at the unconscious warrior's eyes, and then touched the warrior's feverish face. He hesitated a little, and answered hesitantly but affirmatively.

"This poison arrow is very new. He should be... hopeless."

".Alas! Blind God!"

Chihuaco looked sad and sighed heavily.

"To die in this barren land with no grass, thousands of miles away from home. It's really the end of the world."

After sighing for a moment, he suddenly paused, thought of something, and asked sharply.

"Mountain bird, you said these poison arrows are very new?! How long can this kind of arrows retain their toxicity?"

". The poison arrows are most toxic just after they have been dried in the shade. At this time, the arrowheads should be wrapped and inserted into the quiver, away from light. Then within four or five days, the toxicity is very high. As long as the skin is broken, it will kill. After that, the toxicity will inexplicably dissipate and gradually cannot hurt people. After two weeks, it can only be used to hunt flying birds and small animals..."

"If the skin is broken, it will kill. Then these arrows are newly made within four or five days!"

Chivaco's face was solemn and he muttered to himself. Thoughts flashed in his mind, and the omen of danger came to his mind again.

"So, a hostile Sri tribe is just three days away from us. No, the hunting team will not go in a straight line, it should be within two days!"

"Within two days? Hostile Sri tribe?"

Pu Apu had just arrived. Hearing this, he showed a fierce killing intent.

"Let me take the sailors to find this tribe!"

"Old Pu, don't be impulsive!"

Chivaco shook his head. He looked to the east of Shanniao Island. Across the short strait of a few miles, there was the edge of the continent. The eastern continent was full of gray and yellow. It was a desert extending from north to south, and there was an increasingly desolate Gobi.

"Look at the eastern coast! Are you going to take your men and go deep into the unfamiliar desert to find an unknown hostile tribe?"

"But."

Puapu was speechless for a moment. He looked at the eastern continent and asked bitterly.

"The Sri people attacked for no reason and killed the warriors of the kingdom! Are we just going to let it go?"

"Forget it?"

Chivaco bit his lip, and worry appeared on his face.

"Hey! The Sri people attacked so resolutely, and many of them escaped. I'm afraid they will come to our door again!"

"Humph! Damn Sri dogs! If they come to our door again, I will cut off their dog heads with my own hands!"

Puapu clenched the bronze dagger, pressed his leather armor, and his face was full of murderous intent.

Chivaco sighed softly and looked at the archer Kexi again.

"Toad, do you remember what the other party said?"

"Uh"

Kexi scratched his head with his bloody palm, dyed his hair red, and looked both honest and fierce.

"Captain, I don't remember anything, something. Itaco! Oh, there is another sentence, Tahjok, Hant!"

"Tah what? Isn't this the name of the island? Itaco, Hant, what do they mean?"

Chivako was a little puzzled and looked at the mountain bird Cavado who followed him.

Cavado thought about it and answered hesitantly.

"Itaco should be kill, kill them! As for Hant, it seems to be land, soil... It can also be the ancestral land of the tribe!"

"Hmm"

Chivako frowned and pondered in silence. After a long while, he whispered to himself.

"Mountain Bird Island is so special. If it is the ancestral land of the Sri Lankans, it will be troublesome!"

"What's the trouble? They are just some savage tribes with simple weapons, poor clothes, and only some bravery!"

Pu'apu had a gloomy face, murderous intent boiling in his chest, and the dagger in his hand did not loosen at all. He had checked the bodies and equipment of the Sri Lankan warriors. There was not even a decent cotton armor, nor a sharp obsidian weapon. These savages only had flint spears, soft hunting bows, and at most a poisoned bone arrow.

"I will kill as many as they come!"

"Let's go! Take the seriously injured and the bodies of the warriors back to the camp at the landing site."

Chiwako lowered his eyes and ordered calmly. Then, he looked at the bodies of the Sri Lankans, paused, and said again.

"As for the bodies of these Sri people."

"Damn it! Cut off all their heads and pile them on the stone pile of guano to warn the Sri dogs!"

"No! Dig a big pit and bury them all properly. Put up a wooden board, draw the rune of the main god on it, and leave a talisman of the sun hummingbird!"

"Old man Qi, you! Humph!"

Pu'apu widened his eyes and looked at the serious expression of Old Man Qi for a while. He snorted coldly, but didn't say anything else.

The crowd quickly followed the captain's instructions and hastily buried the dead Sri people. Then, they hurried back to the side of the ship with the seriously injured and the bodies of the warriors.

"Dong Dong Dong!"

The drums of war for the assembly were quickly beaten and lasted for a long time. By the evening, all the warriors who were scattered for reconnaissance returned and were on guard. Everyone roughly reconnaissanced the island and found no Sri village, only desolate and uninhabited mountains and a long river running north and south. Only the priest Mecart on the ship was left in the fleet, still staying on the mountain to measure the angle of the North Star.

The night was dark, the moonlight was dim; the early sun was faint, and the midday sun was bright. At noon the next day, the unconscious warrior finally couldn't hold on and took his last breath. Soon, the prepared bonfire rose on the seashore, and three bodies were thrown into the fire. The faint black smoke spread and rose into the vast sky, accompanied by low prayers.

The fleet was thousands of miles away from the kingdom, and all it could bring back was a pile of dust that was still warm.

Mecart arrived in time and presided over the funeral ceremony, allowing the warrior's soul to go to the kingdom of God. When the black smoke dissipated and everything returned to dust, he reported seriously.

"Captain, our current position is between 28-30 degrees from the North Star. About 29 degrees."

"29 degrees from the North Star."

Chivaco nodded heavily, pretending to understand.

"Well, what, what was it when we set out?"

"The mouth of the Tulsa River, about 18 degrees from the North Star."

"That is, sailing more than ten degrees north?"

Chihuaco pulled his hair and grumbled.

"It's been three months, and we've only traveled ten degrees. This is too slow! Do we still want to continue walking north?"

The old militiaman thought for a while and was a little undecided. he asked again.

"Priest Mecat, not long ago, where was the location where we met the Yorem tribe? I remember Chief Deer Head said that there are many small islands with birds to the west of there."

"Jorem. Mayo people."

Meikat took out a roll of precious hemp paper from his arms, on which all the astronomy and hydrology along the way were recorded with dense symbols and figures.

"Captain, it's Beixing 25-26 degrees!"

Chihuaco nodded again. He thought for a moment and asked uncertainly.

"Priest Mecat, based on what degree can you find our previous location?"

"Captain, the degree of the North Star can only determine north and south, not east and west. However, there is another marker for east and west, and that is the coast in the east. As long as you follow the coast, you can roughly find the previous location!"

"Very good! How wonderful! The stars in the sky can actually help navigation. Your Majesty is truly inspired!"

The old militiaman nodded repeatedly, looked happy, and praised him sincerely. Then, he put away his smile, looked majestic, and made the decision of a leader.

"In the afternoon, go dig out some stones. Gray, yellow, hard, and soft stones will be piled in the bottom cabin. Bring them back to Your Majesty! After finishing, everyone must be careful and stay on the ship overnight! Praise the Lord God , He will protect us!”

"Praise the Lord God! May God bless you!"

Everyone responded in unison, looking at the sun at the top of the sky. The devout prayers spread far and wide among the towering mountains, startling a large number of flying birds, and then disappeared into the endless sky. The sea and sky in the north are so vast and seemingly endless!